Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Skippy]

I have done contracts with out pension (not the severance which is different) for some schools it is them being cheap. How malicious it it depends. Some schools are small and want to save money others bigger and they want to cheat or squeeze all the money they can get.

As commented above it would be up to you if you get more pay per month with or with out your choice buuuuutttt the problem is pension and that is attached to health insurance. You get one you have to get the other. Me if it came up in negotiation they wanted to forgo pension and the offer was fine I would do it but I would not give up the health insurance. So in the end the school has to offer both because I want the insurance.

So you ask what if the school offer private health insurance and no pension. I am not certain but private does not work that way. You need the basic national which covers minor costs and then private which I think is just used as gravy and extra to cover more costs.

Now before years ago many people would do the nod and wink system. You got sick school would pay half the doctor's bill. Which is fine if your a young twenty something who tend to think they are invulnerable and hit the doctor once in a while. But a few years ago and with Bill Kaplan getting burned and diing many teachers started to question the status quo. For those that do not know Bill was a teacher that was seriously burned in a weird house fire . He was almost refused entrance to the hospital because he had no insurance. Later he died of his injuries and his family was not allowed to take his body for burial till ALL hospital bills where paid. People started to question what if I get hit by a crazy taxi driver - what will happen will I pay, will the school pay the promised amount, and the answer was NO. So me and other people want the health insurance just in case.....

As the 3.3 percent tax that I think is the Contractor base tax which I think is illegal because we as work visa holders are not legal able to.

Also the big reason why most of the schools get away with pension, health insurances and tax dodges and games is because most E-2 teachers are morons or new. Very very very few teachers do research or try to learn the rules before they sign on or take a contract. Later when things go hinky do they smarten up or get a clue or someone tells them what is supposed to happen. Yet by then they are screwed and getting what is owed becomes a hassle. Schools continue to do this because they keep getting suckers and idiots who sign up, do it and finish. If you owned a school and the last 4 teachers over the last 4 years and you did not do insurance or pension why start now.

[marsavalanche]

A job wants me to sign a contract and start working about a week before I get the actual visa (before I go to the visa run to Japan).

They are calling it "job training". Is this legit? Isn't it illegal to work without a visa?

[theevilgenius]

For the pension one: I'm from Ireland and my boss said since there is no pension agreement between Ireland and Korea that I wouldn't be able to get it back when I leave where most other countries do. So instead he just pays me the money so I'm not losing anything and I'm pretty sure he's not gaining much from it.

[Son Deureo!]

[CentralCali]

[lifeinkorea]

[marsavalanche]

I turned down a job today.

They would not budge on two details of the contract. 3.3% tax, and National health insurance.

The 3.3%, I linked them to the website and told them that rate was for contractors, not employees. They INSISTED that the 3.3 was correct. The manager even said that is HIS tax rate. He kept asking to explain why it should be lower but I'm not an expert on the 3.3%, I've just heard a million times here it's not correct, so I also didn't budge.

As for health insurance, the contract STATED I am entitled to National health insurance. But when I asked if it is indeed that, he says it is private not national. Then he says the employer pays all of it, so that is why 3.3% is fair because that's all I'm paying period in terms of taxes. I told him I want what is in the contract because private covers less than public, and he just kept insisting they are very similar. He even said "you're not going to get cancer, you don't need public!"

Anyways I've come to terms that I've not even going to bother with a job that doesn't offer pension. Too many red flags and shady business.

[Skippy]

I do not know if Ireland and South Korea have an agreement regarding pension. That means if you pay pension you can collect when you leave Korea because the two countries will reciprocate.. Now some countries do not have these agreements per say. The Korean government will still collect the pension but you do not get the money back when you leave. Australia used to be like that but now with an agreement get more in the end. So maybe your boss is trying to be nice and cheap at the same time. He is saving you money (if there is no agreement) and him too.

Find out.

[tukmax]

[theevilgenius]

Ya i checked it out and if i was to pay the contributions it would only add to my pension fund back home so i would only get it when i'm retiring getting a pension so i think I'm better off. Also it wasn't as if my boss said he wasn't going to pay the pension he gave me the choice and I took it. If it benefits him all well and good but it also benefits me too.

[West Coast Tatterdemalion]

Absolutely. Never accept a job that doesn't offer the National Health insurance plan as well as the National Pension plan. Both of those are mandatory, so if the school isn't enrolling you in it, you know that they don't give a damn about you as a person and are thinking of other ways to screw you as well. Glad to see people are starting to smarten up.